


Dean vs. Rollercoaster

by Rainbofiction



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Case Fic, Gen, Screenplay/Script Format, Spec script, implied pre-slash, ~subtext~
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-13 15:25:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4527318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbofiction/pseuds/Rainbofiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A traveling carnival rolled into town, and something strange is happening. It's a metaphor. It's all metaphors and ghost stories, and they're all learning how to be human again.</p><p>An imaginary season 11 monster-of-the-week episode.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dean vs. Rollercoaster

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how to make screenplay format work in AO3, so if you have any suggestions, please share!

  
~PREVIOUSLY~

Dean's been struggling with the Mark of Cain for a year and  
a half - which could also be called the Mark of Being a  
Dick. It's been a burden for all three of them.

Contrast Dean saying to Sam, in 8.23, "There is nothing,  
past or present, that I would put before you!" to Dean  
saying in 9.22 "This is not a team. This is a dictatorship!"

Contrast saying "Cas, I need you here" in 8.16 to Dean  
beating Cas bloody in 10.22.

Sam and Dean's conversations about their lifestyle: "What is  
the upside of me being alive?" Sam says, in 9.13.

Finally, at the end of 10.23, the Mark is zapped off of  
Dean.

And in (my imaginary predicted) season 11, some shenanigans  
cause Castiel to be human instead of an angel, and he is  
staying with Sam and Dean (at least temporarily).

 

  
  
EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - NIGHT

This is not some "World's Largest Roller coaster" place.  
It's a traveling carnival; everything here can be packed up  
and towed. Everything here has put in a lot of miles on the  
highway, and it shows.

Worn paint, trailer hitches, things duct-taped together;  
temporary stand-up fences that wouldn't actually keep anyone  
out.

Under the Ferris wheel, a tall, worn-down man smokes a  
cigarette. His name is DONNIE. Next to him is JAINA, a young  
woman, flamboyant and energetic. They're friends, in a  
mismatched buddy cop sort of way.

 

> JAINA  
>  You know, I never thought about it  
>  before. How come you're never doing  
>  the day shift?
> 
> DONNIE  
>  It's not like I'll get any sleep  
>  anyway. May as well stay up

Jaina suppresses a look of concern.

 

> JAINA  
>  (joking)  
>  Is it 'cause you don't like kids?  
>  Because you're old and stodgy, and  
>  you hate happiness?

Her joke falls a little flat in the empty night. Donnie hugs  
his jacket closer and shivers.

 

> DONNIE  
>  Yeah, that's exactly it. Look, no  
>  reason we both have to be here. Go,  
>  have a beer for me. Get gone.
> 
> JAINA  
>  (laughs)  
>  Yeah, don't fall asleep, old man.

She socks Donnie's shoulder and goes.

Donnie smiles. He drags on the cigarette, and makes a joke  
for only himself to hear:

 

> DONNIE  
>  I'm gettin' too old for this-

  
A loud clang from behind him.

He startles.

 

> DONNIE  
>  Jainey, that you?

No response. Suddenly alert, he moves quickly, looking for  
who might be trespassing. He dashes - and stops in his  
tracks.

 

> DONNIE  
>  (with dread)  
>  Oh, no. No. Not you.

A ghostly boy is standing there.

The smallest roller coaster, for toddlers, has a fence set  
up around it, and the boy is standing on the other side of  
it. He says nothing. He just stares.

And Donnie backs away.

 

> DONNIE  
>  Not again.

He spins around and runs.

But back at the Ferris wheel, he stops short again. Looks up  
to see a body, a child's body, hanging from the spokes of  
the wheel, swaying back and forth in the moonlight.

He tries to look away.

 

> DONNIE  
>  No, you're not real ...

He closes his eyes. But the image stays seared in his head,  
flashing on screen, body limp like a broken doll, swaying as  
the wheel goes 'round ...

 

> DONNIE  
>  I'm sorry, I'm sorry -
> 
> JAINA  
>  Donnie? Donnie?

\- and then it all stops.

He looks up. Jaina is there, shaking him.

 

> JAINA  
>  What the hell?

  
Donnie looks up bewildered, and looks around. It's a normal  
night now. No ghosts, no spooky wind noises, nothing.

He looks up fearfully.

Jaina just looks confused, and concerned.

Donnie looks at his hands ...

TITLE POP

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - DAY

Bang! Close in on the shooting gallery game, a kid pulls the  
trigger on a bright red fake gun.

SUPER: Lawrence, Kansas.

Pan out to Dean and Cas looking on.

The kid misses his last shot, and the young man running the  
game shakes his head.

Dean nudges Cas:

 

> DEAN  
>  Hey, check out that stuffed  
>  penguin.

He steps up as if to play, but Cas pulls him away.

 

> CAS  
>  That's not necessary.
> 
> DEAN  
>  It's a fake gun, Cas, I'm not gonna  
>  get triggered and Hulk out

(He lets Cas lead him away, though.)

 

> CAS  
>  Maybe I'm being paranoid. This  
>  place is -

A loud noise comes from a carnival game - these weird,  
grotesque cartoon birds stare back at him.

 

> CAS  
>  Overstimulating. I don't understand  
>  your idea of fun.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Eh, you'll warm up to it.  
>    
>  CAS  
>  Is Sam coming?

Dean's phone rings. He fumbles it out:

 

> DEAN  
>  Speak of the devil.  
>  (answering it)  
>  Sam?

Intercut: Sam, in a different part of the carnival, in his  
FBI suit, on the phone.

 

> SAM  
>  Dean. Where are you guys?
> 
> DEAN  
>  We're by the ... funnel cake. Ooh.

Dean gestures to the funnel cake guy, "two please."

 

> SAM  
>  Where's the --

Exasperated - he finally spots them from across the way.

They look each other up and down.

 

> SAM  
>  You're not suited up.
> 
> DEAN  
>  What's with the suit?
> 
> SAM  
>  It's a case. What did you think we  
>  were doing here?
> 
> DEAN  
>  (defensive)  
>  I was thinking, Cas has never been  
>  to a carnival before. What do you  
>  mean, it's a case?
> 
> SAM  
>  (lowering his voice)  
>  Dead kids. Every town they visit,  
>  dead bodies show up. I thought I  
>  told you about this.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Uh ... maybe. So you think it's in  
>  our wheelhouse.  
>    
>  SAM  
>  The, uh. The Podunk Oklahoma  
>  gazette thinks it is. They say a  
>  ghost is haunting the Ferris wheel.

Dean chuckles.

 

> DEAN  
>  (sarcastic)  
>  And that's not crazy at all.
> 
> SAM  
>  If there really is a ghost, it's  
>  not crazy, is it?
> 
> DEAN  
>  Hey, maybe it's a serial killer.  
>  That would make your day.
> 
> SAM  
>  Very funny. It's worth a look,  
>  anyway.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Should we -
> 
> SAM  
>  No, you guys do your thing. I'll  
>  check in when it's something more  
>  solid, you know? Have fun. Ride the  
>  rides. Hey, there's that big ship  
>  that swings back and forth, that  
>  looks like fun -
> 
> DEAN  
>  (looks and recoils)  
>  Whoa, whoa. Whoa. That cannot be  
>  safe.
> 
> SAM  
>  Oh, look. That one's probably safe.

He points to a small crowd of four-year-olds standing by the  
smallest roller coaster in the park, built for toddlers.

Dean glares.

 

> DEAN  
>  Very funny.

Sam smirks.  
  
As soon as Sam's turned away, Dean nudges at Cas and  
gestures to the funnel cake stand-

 

> DEAN  
>  You want apple topping. Trust me on  
>  this.

Cas studies the options intensely.

 

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - DAY

A carnie points Sam over to their boss, COLIN GROSSMAN, a  
small, balding middle-aged man. He's confident only when it  
comes to business. Outside of that, he's a small, nervous,  
superstitious and gullible man.

He's speaking firmly to one of his employees when Sam  
interrupts:

 

> SAM  
>  Hi - Mr. Colin Grossman? You're the  
>  owner of the carnival?

Colin looks Sam up and down.

 

> COLIN  
>  Depends who's askin'. You?
> 
> SAM  
>  Agent Manns. FBI. Can we talk in  
>  private?

Sam flashes the badge. Colin panics. As they turn away to  
make the conversation more private:

 

> SAM  
>  I'm investigating a string of  
>  deaths -
> 
> COLIN  
>  That's, that's great. The deaths.  
>  You're investigating the deaths.  
>  Awful stuff. Look, we're really  
>  busy, it's just really not a good  
>  time ...
> 
> SAM  
>  I just have some questions -  
>    
>  COLIN  
>  How 'bout you come back tomorrow,  
>  and I'll tell you everything I  
>  know.
> 
> SAM  
>  ... No you won't. You're gonna pack  
>  up and be outta here tonight.

Colin gapes like a nervous fish. Sam comes on scary angry:

 

> SAM  
>  Cut the crap, Mr. Grossman. Eight  
>  months of dead bodies is not a  
>  freaky random coincidence. That's a  
>  lot of people, a lot of kids. Are  
>  you seriously trying to cover that  
>  up? What's wrong with you?

He changes tack:

 

> SAM  
>  Look, I'm not here to shut you  
>  down. I just want to find out  
>  what's happening.
> 
> COLIN  
>  (too quickly)  
>  Nothing's happening. We run an  
>  honest business.
> 
> SAM  
>  Right. Of course. Aside from all  
>  the dead kids. And the ghost.

Colin flinches - then he does a double take. And another  
double take.

 

> COLIN  
>  You're serious.

Sam smiles. He's hooked him in.

 

> SAM  
>  I have an ... open mind.
> 
> COLIN  
>  You're not really FBI, are you?
> 
> SAM  
>  Just tell me about the ghost, Mr.  
>  Grossman.

 

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - DAY

Dean and Cas (with funnel cakes) are outside the Ferris  
wheel, listening to Jaina tell a story:

 

> JAINA  
>  Oh, there's a ghost, all right.

The children gasp. (A small crowd: two boys, a girl, and two  
parents.) Jaina's in her element, hamming it up.

 

> JAINA  
>  It happened ten years ago. A little  
>  boy, just your age, came to the  
>  carnival.

One of them flinches.

INTERCUT: Sam and Colin, as they walk towards the edge of  
the carnival, where Colin has a trailer that serves as his  
office.

 

> COLIN  
>  It's been way more than eight  
>  months. More like ... two and a  
>  half years. It started in this town  
>  in NorCal, we found a ... a teenage  
>  girl. Strung up from the Ferris  
>  wheel. It was ...

This is not an easy story for him to tell.

 

> SAM  
>  You remember her name?
> 
> COLIN  
>  She was a nobody. I mean, she was a  
>  Jane Doe. Nobody knew her. I don't  
>  even remember the name of the town,  
>  there's been so many.

(Interjecting her story:

 

> JAINA  
>  And we told him, Jake, you can't  
>  horse around on the roller coaster.  
>  You have to behave. You might get  
>  hurt.
> 
> Dean rolls his eyes.)  
>    
>  COLIN  
>  It was obviously a murder, but it  
>  wasn't any of the carnie folk. The  
>  police cleared us. Few weeks later,  
>  we moved on. But then, next town,  
>  same thing. A little boy strung up  
>  from the Ferris wheel.

Sam winces.

(The kids are entranced:

 

> JAINA  
>  But he wouldn't listen. And  
>  finally, the most horrible thing  
>  happened.

She lowers her voice to a dramatic whisper:

 

> JAINA  
>  He undid his safety belt.

Kids gasp in shock ... and Cas seems to be taking this more  
seriously than expected.)

 

> COLIN  
>  And when it happened the third  
>  time, well. We just packed up and  
>  skipped town.
> 
> SAM  
>  You what? You didn't let them  
>  investigate?
> 
> COLIN  
>  Let some backroad sheriff lock us  
>  down in the middle of the New  
>  Mexico desert while he looked for  
>  some way to pin it on us? I mean,  
>  it's not like people need an excuse  
>  to beat up on carnies, but dead  
>  kids make a pretty good excuse  
>  anyway. No, we skedaddled.
> 
> SAM  
>  (unpleasant)  
>  Right.

And Jaina finishes:

 

>   
>  JAINA  
>  He died as soon as he hit the  
>  ground. But! He still comes 'round  
>  and visits. Sometimes, just after  
>  dark, you can see him ... haunting  
>  ... that roller coaster.

She points. The kids (and Cas) turn 'round to look.

The parents, of course, find this incredibly disturbing.  
They try to pull the kids away. We hear one kid ask as they  
leave:

 

> KID  
>  Mom, I wanna see the ghost! Can we  
>  stay 'til dark?

Dean chuckles.

 

> DEAN  
>  Nice story.
> 
> JAINA  
>  Ha, I try. You guys-?

She gestures towards the Ferris wheel - Dean demurs.

 

> JAINA  
>  I wasn't kidding about the ghost,  
>  though.

She winks.

 

> JAINA  
>  You wanna know about the real  
>  ghost... Go ask Donnie.

 

INT. COLIN'S OFFICE TRAILER - DAY

This trailer serves as the office for the whole carnival.  
It's got a desk, and two seats, but mostly it's got stacks  
of milk crates holding all the legal documents. (Operating  
licenses, tax records, employee records, etc.)

Colin gestures to a seat, but Sam stays standing, and so  
Colin does too.

 

>   
>    
>  SAM  
>  So Colin - It's Colin, right? - you  
>  had dead children piling up behind  
>  you for years - and you didn't do  
>  anything?
> 
> COLIN  
>  Of course I did something about it!  
>  I had a witch in Mississippi do a  
>  cleansing.
> 
> SAM  
>  (incredulous)  
>  I mean, you never - you never  
>  suspected you might have a serial  
>  killer traveling with you?
> 
> COLIN  
>  You think I never thought about  
>  that? It's been two years of this  
>  walking nightmare. I've thought of  
>  everything. Every possibility. I  
>  talked to witches, psychics,  
>  priests, Buddhist monks -
> 
> SAM  
>  But not the police.
> 
> COLIN  
>  The police cleared us, like I said.  
>  All of us. It took 'em a week.
> 
> SAM  
>  I want to see those police reports.
> 
> COLIN  
>  Yeah, I've got 'em somewhere.

He waves at the piles of boxes, and takes a deep breath.

 

> COLIN  
>  It's more than that, though. When I  
>  had that horrible thought, you  
>  know, what if it's one of us? I  
>  couldn't sleep until I had it all  
>  logicked out, so I could prove it.  
>  That was a real bad month. But I  
>  can tell you, there's only four  
>  people who were here for all of the  
>  events.  
>    
>  SAM  
>  Four?
> 
> COLIN  
>  We've had a lot of turnover.

Sam takes this in.

 

> SAM  
>  Okay. I hear you.
> 
> COLIN  
>  I never thought I'd believe in  
>  ghosts, Agent Manns, but ... I  
>  don't know what else it could be.
> 
> SAM  
>  Okay. Okay.

 

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - DAY

Sam (police reports in hand) exits the trailer and  
unexpectedly runs into Dean.

 

> DEAN  
>  Check this out. Deep fried Snickers  
>  bar.
> 
> SAM  
>  Right.
> 
> DEAN  
>  So how's the case?
> 
> CAS  
>  There does appear to be a ghost  
>  here. We should talk to Donnie.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Cas, you know that story's made up,  
>  right? Donnie's just gonna tell us  
>  the same crap.
> 
> CAS  
>  You don't know that.
> 
> SAM  
>  (vaguely sarcastic)  
>  So you guys are investigating.  
>  Well, I mean. It could be a ghost.  
>  You could take the EMF on that  
>  roller coaster.  
>    
>  DEAN  
>  ... Sure. Okay.
> 
> SAM  
>  You sure? Cuz if you don't want to,  
>  you know, I can -

(Dean really does not want to, but he's not about to back  
down.)

 

> DEAN  
>  Yeah, I'll go. You're probably too  
>  tall for it anyway.

 

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - DAY

Pan up the roller coaster. Dean is trying to stare it down.  
Cas is standing next to him, eating.

 

> DEAN  
>  I don't actually have to ride the  
>  thing to get a reading on it,  
>  right?
> 
> CAS  
>  Shouldn't we be thorough?
> 
> DEAN  
>  You know what, you should go on it.
> 
> CAS  
>  What? Why? Why don't you want to?
> 
> DEAN  
>  It's an experience. C'mon, it'll be  
>  fun. It's a lot like flying, you'll  
>  love it.

Cas glares ... but gives in.

The park is starting to fill up with children. A little girl  
runs ahead of her parents. An older girl carries her baby  
brother.

A little ways away, Jaina is taking tickets for the Ferris  
wheel.

As she turns to start the ride, we see someone behind her  
looking up in horrified shock ...

We look up with them.  
  
Vague quick glimpses through the crowd, and we see -

\- a little girl in a white dress, hanging, as the Ferris  
wheel goes 'round.

 

 

ACT TWO

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - NIGHT

Bright spotlights, police tape. It's a crime scene now.

Cas kneels down by the body of the little girl. He holds her  
hand (mottled with bruising) for a brief second. He mourns.

He's twitchy and unsettled as he looks around. As if he has  
chills running down his spine; as if he hears something that  
no one else can hear.

Not too far away, Sam and Dean are asking questions.

 

> DEAN  
>  (to Jaina)  
>  Was there anything unusual about  
>  today? Anything at all.
> 
> SAM  
>  (to someone else)  
>  Strange noises, even strange  
>  smells.
> 
> JAINA  
>  (shaking)  
>  No, it was normal. Quiet day, there  
>  were only - three or four people on  
>  the Ferris wheel, everything was  
>  normal. And then I just turned  
>  around, and ...

(View on Cas, listening in.)

Dean nods, and goes to check the body briefly. (Sam hands  
her their card.)

 

> JAINA  
>  (softly)  
>  Why does this keep happening?

The three of them regroup away from everyone else to talk  
privately - with Colin hovering on the edge of the group.

 

>   
>  DEAN  
>  Well, her circuits are fried.
> 
> COLIN  
>  She's new here this year. She's not  
>  used to it yet.

But his confidence withers under Dean's glare.

 

> DEAN  
>  (quietly, to Sam)  
>  What's with the civvie?
> 
> SAM  
>  He's in the know. More or less.

(They start moving the conversation further away to the  
edges of the park.)

 

> DEAN  
>  Well, we know this is in our  
>  wheelhouse now. Nobody saw anyone -  
>  nobody saw how she got up there.
> 
> SAM  
>  She just appeared up there like it  
>  was magic. Cas, you got anything?  
>  Anything weird about the body?

(Cas still can't shake this feeling of unsafety - as if  
something's following them.)

 

> CAS  
>  ... Maybe.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Maybe, what's that mean?
> 
> CAS  
>  It means I don't know. There's  
>  something ... it feels like when we  
>  watched that movie, um, Cabin in  
>  the Woods?
> 
> DEAN  
>  What?
> 
> CAS  
>  (deadly serious)  
>  Don't you feel it? There's  
>  something here.

  
Suddenly, a noise. A clatter and a whoosh. Cas takes off  
running after it.

 

> DEAN  
>  (to himself)  
>  Dammit, Cas-

And he takes off running too.

 

> SAM  
>  (bewildered, sarcastic)  
>  We're running after ghosts now?

 

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - NIGHT

Whatever Cas is chasing, it leads him around the back edges  
of things.

Behind a vendor's stall;

Around the ducks-in-a-pond game;

Cas pauses, listening. First he hears Dean catching up. Then  
he catches a glimpse of something running behind the food  
trucks.

(It doesn't look like anything - just a shapeless, amorphous  
light.)

Dean catches Cas's eye. They both nod. They dash off in  
different directions: Cas towards the path the ghost was  
taking behind the food stalls; Dean paralleling that path in  
front of them.

(Sam's chasing too, but he's well behind. He stops and  
listens to get a bead on them.)

Cas almost catches up to it behind the Ferris wheel, but he  
has to stop short of a fence around it. The  
light-ghost-thing goes right through the fence.

It lights up Cas's face - he's stopped in fear and wonder,  
trying to understand what he's seeing - and then it fades.

And then Dean catches up. Sam's just a few seconds later.

 

> SAM  
>  What was it?

Cas turns, bewildered.

 

>   
>  CAS  
>  You didn't see it?

Confusion.

 

> DEAN  
>  What the hell!

And finally ... an unexpected voice.

 

> DONNIE  
>  You guys are chasing the ghost,  
>  aren't you?
> 
> COLIN  
>  Donnie? What are you doing up? ...  
>  Are you drunk?

Donnie's winded. In between pants:

 

> DONNIE  
>  I can tell you about the ghost.

 

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - MIDNIGHT

By a pickup truck, Donnie's standing and pacing. Dean's  
sitting in the bed of the truck. He offers his flask to Cas,  
who still looks worried and unsettled, standing next to Sam,  
who's intent on the hunt.

 

> DONNIE  
>  It was in 2003. Um - October, end  
>  of the year.

(Dean makes an "internally counting on my fingers" face.)

 

> SAM  
>  (quietly)  
>  Thirteen years ago.
> 
> COLIN  
>  Oh my god. Donnie, that wasn't -  
>    
>  DONNIE  
>  (speaks louder)  
>  These little boys were horsin'  
>  around. I was working the smallest  
>  roller coaster, the one for the  
>  little ones, and they were a bit  
>  old for it. Almost too old. But I  
>  let 'em on. And - well -they wanted  
>  to see the ghost. Of course.

He sips from his flask again. And he gets and more  
distressed as he continues, almost pleading with them,  
begging them to understand.

 

> DONNIE  
>  They were whoopin and hollerin, and  
>  I - I didn't check the safety  
>  belts. You know how it is. They  
>  were big kids. It's a small ride. I  
>  was tired, they were loud. I  
>  remember thinking ... it would  
>  serve them right if they fell off  
>  and cracked their fool heads. But I  
>  didn't mean it!  And then-
> 
> COLIN  
>  At the highest point of the ride,  
>  one of them fell off.

Donnie nods miserably and drinks from the flask again.

 

> DONNIE  
>  It's only 15 feet, but he landed  
>  wrong. And all of a sudden I heard  
>  a crack. This most horrible sound.  
>  By the time I got over to him, I  
>  looked into his eyes ... it was too  
>  late. I don't even remember his  
>  name.
> 
> COLIN  
>  Jordan. I remember. So that's why  
>  you were so twitchy when the police  
>  were around.
> 
> DONNIE  
>  I couldn't look 'em in the eye.
> 
> COLIN  
>  Then you went to a bar and got beat  
>  up by a bunch of townies.  
>    
>  DONNIE  
>  (chuckles)  
>  I don't remember that either.
> 
> COLIN  
>  Donnie ...
> 
> SAM  
>  Donnie, that wasn't your fault. You  
>  just-

Colin isn't so sure about that, but-

 

> DONNIE  
>  No, you don't get it. I told them  
>  that story. That same ghost story  
>  you heard?  "Ten years ago, boy  
>  fell off the roller coaster," all  
>  that. I've been telling that story  
>  for twenty years. But then it came  
>  true!
> 
> SAM  
>  That's not ...
> 
> DONNIE  
>  (speaks over him, not hearing)  
>  I shoulda kept them safe. That was  
>  my job. But I told the story and it  
>  came true. They wanted to see the  
>  ghost. And it's all my fault. I did  
>  this.

His grief weighs heavy on each of them.

 

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - MINUTES LATER

They're all going their separate ways for the night. Dean  
tosses the keys to Sam, who goes on ahead.

He pulls Cas back a bit.

 

> DEAN  
>  Hey. So what's up with you?
> 
> CAS  
>  What's up?
> 
> DEAN  
>  I'm just - you kinda freaked out  
>  there.

  
Cas thinks about this. The Ferris wheel looms; the silence  
stretches.

 

> CAS  
>  I have battled many dark and evil  
>  things. Alone and outnumbered, I  
>  walked through valley after valley,  
>  with no light to guide me, and I  
>  feared no evil thing. I have never  
>  been afraid of the dark before.
> 
> DEAN  
>  ... You're kidding. You got the  
>  heebiejeebies?
> 
> CAS  
>  What?
> 
> DEAN  
>  (laughing)  
>  This run-down haunted carnival is  
>  giving you the creeps. Jesus, I was  
>  worried.

Cas glares at him.

 

> DEAN  
>  Cas, that's a normal human thing. I  
>  think it's the most human thing  
>  there is. 

Cas motions for him to explain.

 

> DEAN  
>  Like, you just know there's  
>  somethin' creepy out there in the  
>  dark, right? That's what it feels  
>  like? And there's nothing actually  
>  there, and you know that, but you  
>  still feel it.
> 
> CAS  
>  And you feel this way a lot.
> 
> DEAN  
>  All the friggin' time. ... Don't  
>  tell Sam I said that.  
>    
>  CAS  
>  No - Dean, there's more to it than  
>  that. There has to be. My instincts  
>  are telling me -
> 
> DEAN  
>  It's just an instinct, Cas.
> 
> CAS  
>  For you, it's just instinct. As an  
>  angel I had three other senses that  
>  you don't know about. And I don't  
>  have those senses anymore, but I  
>  know what I'm ...  
>  (he gestures frustratedly)  
>  ... seeing.
> 
> DEAN  
>  And what's that?
> 
> CAS  
>  There's something very strange  
>  here, Dean. It's not a ghost.   
>  There's something wrong. And if I  
>  were still an angel, I'd know what  
>  it was.
> 
> DEAN  
>  But you're different now. Hey -  
>  it's okay. We all are. We're  
>  different. Right?
> 
> CAS  
>  I don't know. You still don't  
>  listen to me.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Yeah, that's what you like about  
>  me.
> 
> CAS  
>  Well, maybe I've changed.

Dean reacts to that.

> DEAN  
>  What are you saying?

Cas just looks at him like he should understand.

And he walks ahead to Sam, leaving Dean to his own thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

ACT THREE

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - DAY

The carnival's open for business again, but the Ferris Wheel  
is cordoned off. Cas sits on the fence in front of it  
wearing a carnie outfit.

Colin brings him a soda.

They keep a watch together.

 

INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY

Sam and Dean have papers spread out over the table and their  
laptops open. Dean's glaring at his laptop frustrated.

On the table, his phone buzzes with a text.

Sam leans back, on his phone, bored and playing with a pen:

 

> SAM  
>  Yeah, I'm a reporter. I had some  
>  questions about an incident from  
>  last May, when a dead child was  
>  found at a carnival - dammit.

Chair back on the floor, he looks at the phone.

 

> SAM  
>  That's the second one that hung up  
>  on me.  
>    
>  DEAN  
>  Well, I got something. Donnie  
>  wasn't lying about Jordan. That  
>  really happened. Jordan O'Hare,  
>  died in October 2003 at the age of  
>  eight, and buried in eastern  
>  Pennsylvania. But - get this: That  
>  roller coaster the kid died on  
>  isn't even here. One year after the  
>  kid's death, Donnie got really,  
>  really drunk and he torched it.
> 
> SAM  
>  Huh. So ... there's no way Jordan  
>  could be haunting this place.  
>  There's nothing physical, no blood  
>  or anything. Unless Donnie kept a  
>  souvenir, which-

Dean shakes his head - Sam agrees.

 

> SAM  
>  So how is Jordan here?
> 
> DEAN  
>  You know, here's another question.  
>  What does he even want? Is he  
>  vengeful?
> 
> SAM  
>  Maybe he's getting revenge by ...  
>  driving Donnie batshit.

Dean snorts. He gets up from the table to stretch.

 

> SAM  
>  Maybe ... he's warning people?
> 
> DEAN  
>  Killing people to warn them. That  
>  is ghost logic, I guess.
> 
> SAM  
>  Speaking of weird, there's Cas.
> 
> DEAN  
>  What about Cas?
> 
> SAM  
>  The way he flipped out last night.  
>  You don't think that's a clue?  
>    
>  DEAN  
>  (rolls his eyes)  
>  Sam - he was scared. That's all it  
>  is. He was creeped out by the  
>  creepy carnival.
> 
> SAM  
>  Cas was scared.

Dean shrugs.

> SAM  
>  But it's Cas.
> 
> DEAN  
>  It's the human thing.
> 
> SAM  
>  Hey, what if he's psychic now?
> 
> DEAN  
>  What?
> 
> SAM  
>  I mean, he's not really ...  
>  human-human. He's just an angel  
>  without any juice. What if he still  
>  has some sixth sense?
> 
> DEAN  
>  ... Okay, we've both been cooped up  
>  too long. That makes no sense. I  
>  need some air. I'm gonna meet up  
>  with Cas, take another looksee.
> 
> SAM  
>  Right.

Dean pauses ... tries to figure out how he should take that.

Sam waves him off.

 

> SAM  
>  No, really. Go. Get your fresh air.  
>  I'm gonna ... dig into these police  
>  reports.

 

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - DAY

Cas, still sitting in front of the Ferris wheel.  
  
Dean sidles up. He looks him over. Looks around.

 

> DEAN  
>  Bored, huh?
> 
> CAS  
>  Not at all. People are such ...  
>  amazing creations. I never get  
>  tired of watching them.

Dean grins.

 

> DEAN  
>  Wanna do something else?
> 
> CAS  
>  Yes I do. What do you have in mind?
> 
> DEAN  
>  Double date with a dead body. Come on.

 

INT. MOTEL ROOM - MONTAGE

Sam on the phone, trying to get information from anywhere he  
can.

 

> SAM  
>  Hi, I'm a reporter. Just some  
>  questions about an incident in June  
>  last year -

Person on the other end hangs up; Sam looks at his phone.

 

> SAM  
>  O'Riley, I'm a lawyer with the DA's  
>  office. I need a copy of an  
>  incident report from July last  
>  year-

(Intercut with Dean and Cas driving-)

 

> SAM  
>  I'm a reporter, doing a story about  
>  unsolved murders -

(Cas is now in decent, FBI-looking clothing; they enter the  
morgue - )

 

> SAM  
>  August last year -

(An assistant takes them in and pulls open a drawer -)

 

> SAM  
>  FBI, Agent Manns. I need a report  
>  on a mysterious death from last  
>  October. And don't give me the  
>  runaround again. I need to know  
>  about that kid they found dead at  
>  the carnival.

(There's no longer a dead body on the slab. It's just a pile  
of goo. Dean and Cas exchange confused glances.)

Sam finally gets an answer.

 

> SAM  
>  ... Huh.

 

INT. MORGUE - DAY

Dean and Cas are wildly confused.

The morgue assistant is also confused.

 

> CAS  
>  Is this ....
> 
> DEAN  
>  Ectoplasm. Definitely ectoplasm.

Dean's phone rings. He spins around to answer:

 

> DEAN  
>  Sam.

(Cas reassures the increasingly alarmed morgue assistant:)

 

> CAS  
>  I should have mentioned, sorry,  
>  we're with the FBI's Ghostbusting  
>  unit.

Intercut, Sam still in the motel room, putting his coat on:

 

>   
>  SAM  
>  Dean. This is way weirder than we  
>  thought. The bodies - I don't know  
>  if they're -
> 
> DEAN  
>  They're not real. They're  
>  ectoplasm.
> 
> SAM  
>  What?
> 
> DEAN  
>  We're at the morgue now, and that  
>  body from three days ago, it's just  
>  a pile of goo. You think they all  
>  are?
> 
> SAM  
>  Yeah, I do. So I finally got a  
>  police secretary to talk to me. She  
>  told me, all of a sudden, they  
>  didn't have a body anymore.
> 
> DEAN  
>  So ... I get it. Dead body shows  
>  up, the newspaper goes nuts -
> 
> SAM  
>  Right - but the police can't  
>  investigate because they can't find  
>  any actual evidence. So,  
>  unidentified body, no family asking  
>  about it -
> 
> DEAN  
>  And then the body just dissolves  
>  ... That's not a cold case, that's  
>  an X-files case.

(Behind him, Cas and the morgue assistant are taking samples  
of the ectoplasm.)

 

> SAM  
>  Right. They didn't just close these  
>  cases, they shredded 'em. Right in  
>  the circular file. That's why no  
>  one would talk to me. They don't  
>  want to admit-
> 
> DEAN  
>  They did their best to forget it  
>  ever happened. What the hell, man?

 

INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY

Cas and Dean enter with to-go coffees and bearclaws. Sam  
takes one gratefully:

 

> SAM  
>  Tell me you figured it out on the  
>  drive over.

As they take seats and grab at papers:

 

> DEAN  
>  Yeah, right. You know, I touched  
>  the body, at the crime scene. I  
>  felt it. Skin, bones, rigor mortis.  
>  I mean, I know my dead bodies. That  
>  was a dead body.
> 
> SAM  
>  I just confirmed it with another  
>  precinct. Their body dissolved too.  
>  So that's three that we know for  
>  sure. Real dead bodies ... that  
>  were actually ... weird ghost  
>  things.
> 
> CAS  
>  Does this mean nobody's actually  
>  dying?

They react. That's a nice thought.

 

> DEAN  
>  Maybe ... each body comes from a  
>  local ghost? Whoever this girl is -

He looks at a picture of the girl they found on the Ferris  
wheel -

 

> DEAN  
>  Maybe it's ... her ghost.
> 
> CAS  
>  But we have no idea who she is.
> 
> SAM  
>  She might not even ... really  
>  exist. Her face isn't in any  
>  databases, I can tell you that. And  
>  her clothing's modern. Was modern.  
>    
>  DEAN  
>  (suspicious)  
>  Since when did you know kids  
>  fashion?
> 
> SAM  
>  Not fashion, history. It was a  
>  nylon blend. You didn't notice?
> 
> DEAN  
>  No, uh, I don't pay attention to  
>  little girls' nightgowns. Weirdo.

Sam glares.

 

> DEAN  
>  So ... she's just real enough to  
>  have everyone spooked.
> 
> CAS  
>  (to himself)  
>  It was real enough.

They look to him questioningly.

 

> CAS  
>  Like that creepy feeling that I  
>  can't explain. It's not real, but  
>  it seems real.  
>  (with realization)  
>  It's not a ghost. It's a ghost  
>  story.

That doesn't actually explain anything.

 

> DEAN  
>  Stories can't kill people.
> 
> CAS  
>  But no one's actually being killed.  
>  We just think they are.
> 
> SAM  
>  Like ... a tulpa?
> 
> DEAN  
>  We would have noticed a tulpa  
>  symbol.  
>    
>  CAS  
>  Not quite - there's something  
>  special about children. ... You  
>  don't know this? Children's minds,  
>  they're different. Both stronger  
>  and more flexible, and constantly  
>  reaching out to try and understand.
> 
> SAM  
>  And how many kids go to this  
>  carnival? Probably thousands, every  
>  year.
> 
> CAS  
>  And some of those kids would be  
>  psychic, and powerful. So you tell  
>  the same story, over and over, that  
>  idea keeps gathering energy until  
>  it ... coalesces. Like a raindrop  
>  forming in the atmosphere.

(He reminisces - as if he remembers watching raindrops  
form.)

 

> CAS  
>  All of them think it's true, so ...
> 
> SAM  
>  ... It comes true.
> 
> DEAN  
>  But ... things don't work like  
>  that. You can't take a vote on  
>  reality. What's real is real!

(Sam and Cas exchange a glance at that.)

 

> SAM  
>  People believe lots of things,  
>  Dean. And - kids are different. If  
>  they believe a story, then it's not  
>  just a story to them. It's fact.
> 
> DEAN  
>  (frustrated)  
>  So a - a figment of imagination is  
>  making real things happen, but  
>  they're not really real, but  
>  everybody thinks they're real -  
>  that doesn't make any sense.  
>    
>  CAS  
>  (confused)  
>  Yes it does. It makes perfect  
>  sense.

Dean sputters. Looks to Sam for help. Gives up.

 

> DEAN  
>  So ... do we ... kill it? Do we  
>  salt and burn something?

They sit in silence, stumped.

 

> SAM  
>  Well, so - what was that story the  
>  carnie told you? Donnie said  
>  they've been tellin' that story for  
>  years.
> 
> CAS  
>  Oh - you know what that means. This  
>  has nothing to do with Jordan. And  
>  nothing to do with Donnie.

Sam nods.

 

> DEAN  
>  So in the story, it .... doesn't  
>  really say why. It's your typical  
>  civvie ghost story. He just haunts  
>  them.
> 
> SAM  
>  So same as before, could be  
>  revenge, could be -
> 
> CAS  
>  I think he just doesn't know what  
>  else to do.

They look at Cas.

 

> CAS  
>  It's his programming. Literally, he  
>  was created just to haunt people.  
>  So maybe he thinks there's some  
>  other reason, maybe he makes one up  
>  ... but ...

He trails off.

Sam breaks the tension.

 

> SAM  
>  You know, if no one's actually  
>  dying, I should call Colin and tell  
>  him that. That'll make him feel  
>  better.

But his phone rings before he even picks it up.

 

> SAM  
>  Colin?

Intercut, Colin, on his phone, in front of his office  
trailer, looking at something off camera:

 

> COLIN  
>  You need to get here. Now.

Sam is alarmed.

 

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - NIGHT

Pan in over Colin, looking up, horrified. 

Sam, Dean, and Cas rush up behind him. Identical looks of  
horror cross their faces as they see -

 

> COLIN  
>  Donnie! Donnie, stop!

Donnie is up on the Ferris wheel, standing on top of one of  
the cabs, holding a noose that's tied to one of the spokes.

He's looking at something no one else can see, mumbling:

 

> DONNIE  
>  I'm sorry, I'm sorry ...
> 
> SAM  
>  Donnie, hey.

Desperate, Colin talks over him:

 

> COLIN  
>  Look, those X-files guys are here,  
>  okay, they're gonna fix it. It's  
>  all gonna be okay.
> 
> DONNIE  
>  It's not okay! It has to stop -  
>    
>  SAM  
>  Donnie, it's okay. Listen - listen  
>  to me -
> 
> DONNIE  
>  You don't get it. He's here. I can  
>  see him, he won't let me go. Won't  
>  leave me alone.
> 
> SAM  
>  There's no one else up there!

Donnie snaps to and focuses on Sam.

 

> SAM  
>  Whatever you're seeing, it's not  
>  real. I'm real. We're real. Listen  
>  to me. Don't do this, Donnie. I  
>  know things seem bad right now,  
>  okay, but -
> 
> DONNIE  
>  Right now - No. You don't know what  
>  it's like. All those people, all  
>  those deaths. All those years.
> 
> SAM  
>  Hey -
> 
> DONNIE  
>  That's on me. All of it!

And he talks to the empty air again:

 

> DONNIE  
>  Please, stop it. Stop!
> 
> DEAN  
>  Hey! You think we don't know what  
>  that's like?
> 
> DONNIE  
>  How could you possibly -
> 
> DEAN  
>  Trust me, man. I know. But it gets  
>  better. Don't do this, Donnie.

Donnie's face hardens.

 

> DONNIE  
>  It won't get better for Jordan -  
>    
>  DEAN  
>  Donnie! No-
> 
> DONNIE  
>  \- and not for me.

View is on Cas' face when we hear a crack.

Look away.

React.

And a little boy's voice cries:

 

> UNKNOWN BOY  
>  No!!

 

 

 

ACT FOUR

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - NIGHT

Right where we left off: Sam, Dean, Cas, and Colin,  
wide-eyed and shocked. They turn to see who yelled-

\- and they see a ghostly boy. The same boy from the open.  
Jake.

 

> COLIN  
>  Oh my god.

He falls back.

Jake looks just as distraught as the rest of them, as a  
normal little boy would be:

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  Why would he do that?
> 
> DEAN  
>  (angry)  
>  You were talking to him. Weren't  
>  you?
> 
> GHOST JAKE  
>  No! I tried, but he couldn't see  
>  me! I was telling him to stop!  
>    
>  DEAN  
>  You're lying-

Sam grabs Dean's arm to keep him from going at the ghost.

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  (sobbing)  
>  I never wanted anyone to get hurt.  
>  I didn't want anyone to get hurt  
>  ...

They all look at him in pure disbelief. Quietly, both on  
edge:

 

> SAM  
>  He's not ... angry.
> 
> DEAN  
>  He's not throwing anything at us.
> 
> CAS  
>  (indignant)  
>  He's crying.

He approaches the ghost kid:

 

> CAS  
>  Hey. What's your name?
> 
> GHOST JAKE  
>  (sniffles)  
>  Jake. I'm Jake.
> 
> CAS  
>  Jake. I'm Castiel, and my friends  
>  and I, we're here to help. Where  
>  are you from, Jake?

(Dean and Sam keep looking at each other. What the hell?)

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  I ... I don't know. I don't  
>  remember.
> 
> CAS  
>  Oh ... kay. So, tell me about  
>  yourself. What are you doing here?  
>  Do your parents know you're here?

Ghost Jake just looks more and more confused.

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  I'm ... I'm a ghost. I'm here to  
>  ... to ... I'm here to ...
> 
> CAS  
>  It's okay. It's okay.

(He looks back at Dean and Sam, silently asking for help.)

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  I'm here to help people.

He nods, decided.

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  I gotta make sure no one else gets  
>  hurt.
> 
> CAS  
>  No one else? Who got hurt, Jake?
> 
> GHOST JAKE  
>  Me. When I died, I died because I  
>  wasn't careful enough. I was makin'  
>  trouble. Now I gotta make sure that  
>  all the kids know. I gotta make  
>  sure that they're careful.
> 
> CAS  
>  Okay. Okay, I see.

He looks at Sam and Dean again, motioning - "Are you gonna  
help?"

 

> SAM  
>  That's - that's great, Jake. You're  
>  doin' a real good job.
> 
> DEAN  
>  (harsh)  
>  Did you make all those fake dead  
>  bodies?

(Jake flinches a little.)

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  I had to make 'em listen. I had to  
>  show them.
> 
> DEAN  
>  You made everyone freak out! Kid,  
>  you gotta stop it.  
>    
>  GHOST JAKE  
>  (crying again)  
>  Why are you yelling at me!

Sam grabs Dean's arm again.

(Meanwhile Colin, gape-mouthed, slowly catches up:)

 

> COLIN  
>  Fake dead bodies??
> 
> DEAN  
>  (quietly hissing)  
>  Sam-
> 
> SAM  
>  (quietly)  
>  So how do we get rid of a ghost  
>  when there's nothing to burn?
> 
> DEAN  
>  Holy ground? Holy something?

Sam makes eye contact with Cas.

 

> SAM  
>  We help him ... move on.

Cas makes a face - "How the hell do we do that?" - but he  
turns back to give it a shot.

 

> CAS  
>  So - Jake - you've done a good job,  
>  keeping everyone safe, but - that's  
>  a grownup job. That's no job for a  
>  little kid.
> 
> GHOST JAKE  
>  I'm not a little kid. I'm a ghost.
> 
> CAS  
>  Right, but -
> 
> DEAN  
>  (quietly)  
>  Wait, he's a story, right. Not a  
>  kid.

Sam, puzzled.

 

> DEAN  
>  So, tell him a new story.
> 
> Sam gets it. Cas tries to think of one ...  
>    
>  SAM  
>  Hey, Jake. So how'd the story go?  
>  You died because you were horsing  
>  around, right?
> 
> GHOST JAKE  
>  Right, and then I came here to  
>  haunt the carnival. ... so no one  
>  else would get hurt.
> 
> SAM  
>  But that's not the end of the  
>  story, right?
> 
> GHOST JAKE  
>  Huh?
> 
> SAM  
>  You wanted to make sure everyone  
>  was okay, so you hung around. And  
>  after a while, you realized ...  
>  they were okay.

All eyes on Sam.

 

> SAM  
>  You realized they would be fine  
>  without you. You didn't have to  
>  worry about them. And you don't  
>  have to stay here. You could do ...  
>  whatever you wanted.

Jake's face crinkles in confusion.

 

> SAM  
>  And you decided that what you  
>  really wanted was to be up in  
>  Heaven, with your mom and your dad.  
>  And your dog. And so, you looked  
>  around ...

Jake looks around-

 

> SAM  
>  And you said goodbye to this place.

Pause. Wait for him to say it.

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  And everyone's gonna be okay?  
>  Really?  
>    
>  SAM  
>  Really.
> 
> GHOST JAKE  
>  You sure?
> 
> SAM  
>  I'm gonna take care of everyone  
>  now. We all are. I promise. You  
>  don't have to worry anymore.
> 
> GHOST JAKE  
>  And after I say goodbye ... what  
>  happens next?
> 
> SAM  
>  (smile)  
>  You say goodbye, and you move on.  
>  You go on up to Heaven.

Sam's not sure if he believes that ... but Jake  
buys it. He nods, slowly. Looks around:

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  Goodbye, everyone.

Looks at Donnie's body.

 

> GHOST JAKE  
>  Goodbye.

And he slowly ... sparks and fades out.

A moment. Everyone catches their breath.

 

> DEAN  
>  Did that work? He's gone?

Cas is looking up with happy tears.

 

> CAS  
>  Yes. Yes, it did. He's gone.

 

 

ACT FIVE - TAG

EXT. CARNIVAL GROUNDS - NIGHT

Colin is sitting on the ground, staring at the tableau:  
Donnie's body, noose still attached, on a stretcher in an  
open body bag.  
  
Cas, Dean, and Sam stand near him, watching the same  
tableau. Cas offers him a bottle of liquor.

Colin looks up at Sam:

 

> COLIN  
>  So ... none of those kids were  
>  real? They were all ...
> 
> SAM  
>  Ghost constructs. Or ... something.  
>  No one died at your carnival,  
>  Colin.
> 
> COLIN  
>  (dazed)  
>  It's all over.
> 
> CAS  
>  The nightmare's over.

Colin hands back the bottle.

He can't stop looking at Donnie, though.

 

> DEAN  
>  (small laugh)  
>  And for once we don't have to clean  
>  up any loose ends. You know, no  
>  bodies to burn.

Everyone looks at him.

Dean looks at his bottle.

Cas and Colin get up and walk away. Sam shakes his head.

 

> DEAN  
>  What?

Sam makes no reply.

 

> DEAN  
>  Hey. so why are you so gung ho to  
>  find cases, anyway?
> 
> SAM  
>  It's sort of what we do, Dean.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Right, but ... we talked about  
>  this. A vacation. We've all earned  
>  a vacation, Sammy - especially you!  
>    
>  SAM  
>  But I don't need one, Dean. I don't  
>  really want one. I like what we do.  
>  I like helping people. I like  
>  figuring things out, and I'm good  
>  at it.

Dean has some complicated emotions about this, but he has to  
concede that point.

 

> SAM  
>  So ... you know, if you need your  
>  spa days, take them. Seriously. I  
>  mean that. I want you to take care  
>  of yourself. And I also want to  
>  work cases. So that's what I'm  
>  gonna do.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Whether I'm on board or not.

Sam shrugs. Dean looks at the bottle in his hand, thinks.

 

> DEAN  
>  Sam, when I was talkin' about the  
>  beach ... I want you there with me.  
>  You and Cas. Both of you. I can't  
>  just sip margaritas while you're  
>  out here, taking on things that  
>  could kill you.

Sam sighs.

 

> DEAN  
>  And you know, there's evil just  
>  about everywhere we go. I mean. We  
>  go skiing, we find yetis. We go to  
>  the beach, we'll find, idunno.  
>  Surfer vampires. Or beach boy  
>  sirens.

Sam laughs.

 

> SAM  
>  I'll remember that. I hear you. I  
>  do.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Alright. Let's get out of here.
> 
> SAM  
>  Hey - where'd Cas go?

They exchange a worried look - and dash off.

They find him -

 

> DEAN  
>  Cas!

Cas is sitting on the Ferris wheel, in almost the same  
position Donnie was. Where Donnie stood on top of the cab,  
Cas is sitting inside it.

Sam and Dean freak all the way out.

 

> SAM  
>  Cas! Uh - whatcha doin' up there?

Cas takes another swig from a liquor bottle. Leaning out of  
the cab, he looks up at the stars. Calmly:

 

> CAS  
>  You wouldn't understand.
> 
> DEAN  
>  (growl)  
>  Dammit, Cas ...

He hops the fence and starts trying to climb up.

 

> CAS  
>  You have no idea what I used to be.  
>  I saved galaxies from destruction,  
>  and now I am this, and I can't save  
>  one pathetic old man ....

(Dean's not listening, focused on climbing; Sam also starts  
climbing over the fence)

 

> CAS  
>  I failed as an angel, failed as a  
>  human, and now I'm failing as a  
>  hunter.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Cas, listen --

Instead of climbing, like Dean, Sam goes straight to the  
controls! Cas yelps in surprise as the Ferris wheel moves.  
As it comes down to the platform, Dean rushes and grabs Cas  
by the arms.

 

> DEAN  
>  Cas, don't you say that. Don't.  
>  Don't.  
>    
>  CAS  
>  Dean, I'm useless. I'm no use to  
>  you, so why do you keep me around?  
>  Why do you -

Cas turns away; Dean climbs into the cab to keep eye  
contact.

 

> DEAN  
>  Screw that, Cas, you belong with  
>  us. Me and Sam, and you. How can  
>  you not see that?

Cas all red and bleary eyed and pitiful

 

> DEAN  
>  Whether it's on the road, or ... on  
>  the beach - or whatever. This is  
>  where you belong.
> 
> CAS  
>  Heaven kicked me out. Heaven, my  
>  family, didn't want me around. But  
>  you do.
> 
> DEAN  
>  Yes!

Cas breaks down even more.

 

> CAS  
>  Dean-

And then - suddenly, the Ferris wheel starts moving again.

 

> DEAN  
>  Sam!

Sam's laughing like an idiot as the Ferris wheel takes them  
up, and up ...

 

> DEAN  
>  Dammit, Sam! Get us down!

But Cas is breaking into giggles, sad and happy giggles. And  
he's looking up at the stars.

Dean looks at him and is suddenly not so freaked.

 

> (On the ground, Sam doesn't see that, and yells:)  
>    
>  SAM  
>  You guys having fun? You like the  
>  view up there? You're not scared of  
>  heights, right?

Dean makes no response, just looks at Cas.

 

> SAM  
>  Well, I'm gonna take a walk. Enjoy  
>  the view. Have fun!

He walks off, still chuckling.

And Dean says softly:

 

> DEAN  
>  Yeah. Okay.

And he settles in next to Cas and looks up at the stars.

 

END

 

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus round: Tropes from the show  
> \- Winchester logic  
> \- the broment  
> \- Dean and Cas are on a date and they don't realize it  
> \- it's hilarious when Cas makes deadpan pop culture references  
> \- hovering on the line between intense and just cheesy  
> \- It's a metaphor!! The carnival is a "family business", with rides that go in circles, going nowhere and accomplishing nothing. Everyone bought into this story that wasn't true and it kept going round til someone got hurt.  
> \- visual fun: I tried to mention birds and other winged things around Cas as much as possible.  
> \- the wheel is many things: the wheel of fortune, the cyclical story, the cycle of rebirth, and "what goes around comes around" - you pay for your sins.


End file.
